Process of making caoutchouc substitute.



@FFTQE- orro 363M, or DARMSTADT, GERMANY.

PROCESS OF MAKING CAQUTCHOUC SUBSTITUTE.

No Drawing.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OTTO Ronni, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing in Darmstadt, Germany, have invented a certain new and useful Process of Making (.aoutchouc Substitute, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to a new process of making caoutchouc substitute, and it has relation also to the said substitute as an article ol Illzlfill'fzlCiUlG.

Biy invention has for its object to produce a caoutchouc substitute by the vulcanization ot' the solid acrylic acid esters obtained by polymerizat'ion.

1 have discovered the fact that a caoutcliouc substitute may be produced by the vulcanization of solid acrylic acid esters obiained by polymerization. The fact that such a substitute could be thus produced could not have been predicted or foreseen because the acrylic acid esters do not belong to the compounds from which the formation of natural caoutchouc can be explained.

According to one method of vulcanization employed bv me I take 95 parts, more or less, of solid acrylic-acid ester and mix the same with 5 parts, more or less, of sulfur in a rolling mill or other suitable apparatus until a homogeneous mass is produced. Such mass is then heated in any suitable receptacle to about 40 degrees centigrade for tvvo hours more or less.

The polymerized esters referred to herein are colorless and are transparent like glass and become hard when left to lie for a considerable time. The vulcanization of these esters results in the production of opaque products the color of which, when sulfur alone is employed, is yellow varying to brown or gray according to circumstances.

The physical properties of the vulcanized products depend upon the kind and duration of the vulcanizing process and cannot, therefore, be stated in detail, but it is essential that such products maintain permanently their once acquired properties, namely, considerable hardness, expansibility and indiiicrence to chemical influences, as,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

Application filed January 28, 1913. Serial No. 744,731.

for instance, indifference to strong acids or alkalis.

herelnbefore described which is employed by me for the production of a caoutchouc substitute possesses the merit of great cheapness because of the fact that in the preparation of acrylic acid esters inexpensive glycerin or lactic acid and similar compounds serve as a starting point.

I have not herein described the method of producing the acrylic acid esters because it is known already.

I claim 1. The process of making caoutchouc substitute which consists in the vulcanization of any acrylic acid ester.

2. The process of making caoutchouc substitute which consists in the vulcanization of any solid acrylic acid ester.

3. The process of making caoutchouc substitute which consists in the voulcanization of any solid acrylic acid ester obtained by polymerization.

i. A caoutchouc substitute formed by the vulcanization of an acrylic acid ester.

5. A caoutchouc substitute formed by the vulcanization of a solid acrylic acid ester obtained by polymerization.

6. The process of making caoutchouc substitute which consists in combining solid acryl-acid ester with sulfur.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have hereunto signed my name this 15 day of January, A. D. 1913,

at Darmstadt, Germany.

OTTO ROHM.

In the presence of RICHARD KAU'I'IER, 'Huoo ALWY. 

